Athletes

We provide materials to help you make informed decisions about the health and safety of sports.

This information will help you understand the risks that come with different sports. It will help you recognize and, in some cases, prevent injuries to yourself or your teammates. It will also help you participate in decisions about your treatment and return to sports if you have an injury.

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Concussion

Exercise & Health

Nutrition & Hydration

Sudden Cardiac Arrest

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Concussion management video A 15-minute video on the importance of understanding concussions and guidelines for removal from play and return to play after a concussion. Stanley Herring, MD, director of SHSI, serves as host.

Recent News& More

Most doctors who treat young athletes for concussion know that the injury increases the risk of having a car accident, but barely half counsel their patients against driving, a U.S. study suggests. (Reuters Health)

Most high school coaches, players and parents do not know that a concussion is a brain injury. But they generally understand the importance of being symptom-free before returning to play and the potential effects of repeated concussions. (HealthDay)

Head, neck and shoulder injuries during rugby tackles are more common when the tackler’s head is incorrectly positioned in front of the ball carrier. Athletes employing recommended techniques had significantly fewer injuries. (Reuters Health)

Laws spearheaded by the director of UW Medicine’s Sports Health and Safety Institute, Stan Herring, MD, and colleagues have led to a noticeable nationwide decline in repeated concussions among teenage athletes. (Washington Post)

The ambitious goal: to identify early signs of trauma-induced brain damage from subtle changes in blood chemistry, brain imaging and performance tests — changes that may show up decades before visible symptoms such as cognitive impairment, depression and impulsive behavior. (STAT)

Understanding Heat Stroke in 7 Steps

Athletes can develop life-threatening exertional heat stroke for a variety of reasons, but virtually none is acceptable among trainers and coaches who put player safety first. Summer training deaths from heat stroke serve as regular, harsh reminders of the importance of knowing how to prevent, recognize and properly treat this devastating condition.

Beat the summer heat

In this compilation of stories, find out what science says about training in the summer. Learn what you need to know about proper hydration in the heat, avoiding and treating debilitating heat cramps, and the prevention, recognition and treatment of life-threatening heat stroke.

Recent News& More

What types of physical activity should kids and teens do, and how do you get young people excited about exercise? “The main message is that children and adolescents need to be physically active daily and to take this habit into adulthood.” (CNN)

About one in four deaths in the United States are due to heart disease. But a new study suggests that even if you have a genetic risk for heart disease, there’s a simple way to combat it: Exercise. (TIME)

American adults continue to put on the pounds. New data shows that nearly 40 percent of them were obese in 2015 and 2016, a sharp increase from a decade earlier. The rise in the percentage of youths who are obese and severely obese was not enough to be statistically…

Patients taking opioids for chronic back pain or pain from hip or knee arthritis reported similar relief from pain during activities after one year as patients treated with nonopioid medications—and significantly more side effects. (NPR)

Hydration in the heat for young athletes

Young athletes, parents and coaches frequently ask about safe ways to hydrate in the heat. They want to know how much—and what—to drink to safely perform at their best.

The answers aren’t simple. The scientific research is inconclusive, and experts disagree.

To help sort out the science and provide practical advice, we talked to E. Randy Eichner, M.D., professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center and former team internist for the Oklahoma Sooners football team. Eichner spent 14 years caring for Sooners football players in dauntingly hot conditions. And for three years he also served as a physician for the Hawaii Ironman, one of the longest, most grueling, and hottest athletic competitions in the U.S.

Muscle cramping in the heat

Muscle cramping is the bane of athletes playing in the heat. This painful problem can range from annoying to disabling. Find out why they happen, and how to prevent them from happening again in the future. Experts urge players who are at risk to salt their food and eat healthful salt-rich foods. Fad remedies can delay proper care.

Recent News& More

Research from Stanford University shows that neither low-fat nor low-carb diets are key to sustained weight loss among overweight adults. Instead, it’s back to basics: avoid refined wheat and sugar, and eat more vegetables. (University of Washington)

Why exactly are some people able to maintain a healthy weight while others can try and try with no luck? The process of weight gain and weight loss involves a complicated combination of genetics, complex body systems and the environment. (University of Washington)

Elimination diets, like the popular Whole30 diet, can help you find out how certain foods make you feel, and potentially reduce gastrointestinal distress. If you’re considering starting one, this is what you should know before cleaning out your fridge. (University of Washington)

A new study suggests that ketone supplements may not work as advertised and could have the kinds of gastrointestinal side effects that make starting, let alone completing, an event almost impossible. (New York Times)

Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Six Key Facts

Sudden cardiac arrest is the number one cause of sudden death in exercising young athletes.

It usually strikes without warning in individuals with a structural or electrical abnormality of the heart, often inherited. Males, African-Americans and male basketball players appear to be at increased risk.

No method of detecting heart problems in athletes is perfect.

A complete medical history and physical exam are required for all young athletes before they participate in sports. Some medical experts are adding a screening electrocardiogram (EKG) to the standard pre-participation physical exam.

In some cases, warning signs or symptoms can help identify an athlete at risk of a sudden cardiac arrest.

Signs of a potentially risky heart condition include fainting or passing out during exercise; extreme shortness of breath or chest pain with exercise; palpitations (heart racing) for no reason; and unexplained seizures.

Until proven otherwise, you should suspect sudden cardiac arrest in any collapsed and unresponsive athlete.

Unless effective emergency steps are taken immediately, the athlete will die or be left with serious brain damage.

Every team should have—and practice—an emergency action plan for sudden cardiac arrest.

It is critical that your coach review and practice the emergency action plan in the preseason with all of the people who may be involved in the emergency response.

Life-saving measures include calling 9-1-1, immediate chest compressions (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), and shocking the athlete with an AED as soon as possible.

Early initiation of all of these measures is important. Early shock (defibrillation) with an automated external defibrillator (AED) is the most important factor for survival. A few minutes’ delay can be the difference between life and death.

Sudden cardiac arrest: Know the danger

Every two to three days in the U.S., a young athlete dies as the result of sudden cardiac arrest. In fact, sudden cardiac arrest is the number one cause of sudden death in exercising young athletes.

In most cases, the arrest occurs with no warning. In the midst of play or practice, the athlete suddenly collapses. And if appropriate action is not taken within minutes, the athlete will die or be left with serious brain damage.

This information is for you if you want to learn about the causes of sudden cardiac arrest and the athletes who are at greatest risk. Being aware of the danger is the first step in preparing to save a teammate’s life.

Recent News& More

Fewer than 8 percent of those who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital survive. But this high school basketball player did—because there was an automated external defibrillator on hand and people who knew how to use it. (Rivard Report)

Heart data from elite basketball players show that a surprising number have abnormalities—but these results are likely false positives that don’t take into account how the heart changes during training, according to researchers. (The Verge)

Young athletes have a very low risk of suffering a fatal cardiac arrest. But more important, researchers found that more than 80 percent of cases probably won’t be caught through “pre-participation screening” that includes electrocardiograms to detect electrical abnormalities in the heart. (HealthDay)

Dozens of not-for-profit organizations have formed in the past decade to promote free or low-cost heart screenings for teens. The groups often claim such tests save lives by finding abnormalities that might pose a risk of sudden cardiac death. (NPR)